Surgical fracture extension appliance



May 21', 1935. RQUSE 2,002,021

'SURGICAL FRACTURE EXTENSION APPLIANCE Filed Feb. 27, 1934 l a 1 E a IHUWA/JO Q5055 Patented May 21, 1935 P lo FH SURGICAL FRACTURE nx'rsnslonAPPLIANCE Howard Rouse, Lewiston', Idaho I 7 Application February27,1934, SerialNol.713,091

40mins. (cries-431],

My present invention relates to an improved surgical fracture extensionappliance designed to applystretching or extension to the limbs, for

the purpose of accurately adjusting the fractured ends of the bones into the application of splice vices to the meeting ends of the arms orlegs, preparatory the fractured bone.

As is well known in surgery, many fractures or "breaks extend inaddition, the jagged edges joining ends of the conditions requirediagonally across the bones, and, project from the adbroken bone. Theseexisting that the muscles of the limb must be stretched or extended, andthe limb as a whole must also be extended, in order that the ends of thebreak may be placed in proper position topermit and ting of the Incarrying out insure a perfect jointing or setbroken or fractured parts.

my invention I provide anappliance for the above purposes, whichappliance mum number of parts; which be applied or attached to the bone;and which may,

r be operated to perform the limb. Means is simple in construction andcomposed of a minithe fractured ends of with comparative ease, itsfunctions of extending arealso provided whereby the appliance may bemanipulated, when in active position,

for the purpose of removing operating "parts of the appliance from thepath of the surcured, the appliance from the limb, and

mend.

that

freedom from obstructions durin his surgical operations.

has properly been made and sehe may have free access to the may readilybe detached the latter is permitted to My invention consists in certainnovel combinations and arrangements of parts as will hereinafter he morespecifically referred to and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing one complete example of the ment of myinvention and a slight modification thereof, wherein the parts arecombined and arranged according to modes I have so far devised for thepractical application of the principles of my invention. It will thatchanges and be 7 understood however alterations may be made in theexemplifying structures, within the scope of my appended claims,principles of my Figure 1 is a p without departing from the invention.

erspective view of the surgical fracture extension appliance embodyingmy invention, and shown in position for use.

Figure 2 is a de ends of a bone wi tail view showing the fractured ththe limb extended by means of the flexible or swivel plates or similardeframe similar in? shape to may, with facility,

I haveillustrated physical embodiarm to which it is attached, and inorder shown in section;

Figure 3 is adetail view partly in section of one brackets formingjoints for the clamps and brace.

Figure 4 is a perspective detail view of a modifled form of swivel orflexible joint between the brace and the clamps.

In carrying out my' invention Iutilize a'brace the letter A, andcomprising the spaced arms I and 2 that are pivoted at3-to thecross-head 4, from which cross head I the "arms diverge, as shown,

A suitable 'screw 5,:having aconvenient handle- 5 at'one end, isthreaded through a complementary ho1e-11in the rcross headland the otherend of the screw is. journaledto turn in the spreader head 8. located ina planeparallel with-the cross head The spreader head 8 is and theformer is movable with relation to the latterr At 8 -injFigure la socketis indicated in the spreader-head-in which the journal and of the screwis seated andretained, but of course permitted to turn.-

A pairiof spreaderlinks'iland II), which are provided with bifurcatedends H are pivoted at 12 to the respective arms I' and 2, andat theirinner ends these links are pivoted at [3 to the bifurcated ends of thespreader-head.

1 Thus it will be apparent that by turning the screw 5 the spreader-headBmay be moved away from, or towardthe cross-head, for'spreadingor,,distending, and for retracting the free ends of the brace arms I and2.

On the free ends of the arms I and 2 are mounted a pair of clamps orclamping devices, indicated as a whole by the letters A and B, andextending inwardly toward the axial line of the screw 5.

Each of the clamps A and B is mounted on 40 an armby means of a swivelbracket, and each swivel bracket includes a U-shaped head It that ispivoted at l5 to an arm, as l and 2. A second, oppositely arrangedU-shaped head I6 is swiveled at I! to the head l4, and as bestyindicatedin Figure 3 the pivot I5 and the swivel bolt I! are arranged in planesat right angles one to another, in order that the clamp as a whole mayswing in a plane parallel with the that the A-frame may swing laterallyon the two swivel pins or bolts l1 when the two clamps are rigidlyattached to the ends of the fractured leg-bone. i

In each swivel-head IS, a pair of clamp bars,

,bars (not shown) are 'the'opposed ends of the as I8 and I 9, arepivoted or hinged at 20, and the free end of each of these clamp bars isprovided with a hooked-end 2|, the hooks or barbs being arranged so thata pair of complementary hooks or barbs will engage or impinge against abone at diametrically opposite points, as indicated in Figure 2.

The opposed points or barbs of a pair of clamp bars are brought towardone another, and clamped securely on the bone by means of a clamp bolt22 that may be connected to one clamp bar, as [9, and which passesthrough the other bar as IS, the latter being provided with a slot toaccommodate the threaded end of the bolt 22.

A clamp nut 23 is threaded on the free end of each clamp bolt, exteriorof the bar l8, and it will be apparent that by turning the nutclockwise, the clamp bar l8 may be moved toward the bar l9, causing theopposed barbs 2|, 2|, to be clamped on the bone. i

In Figure 4 a modified form of the swivel bracket joint between a clampand the arm la is illustrated, wherein the arm is provided with abifurcated end 24, forming a socket in which the ball or spherical head25 is clamped. The ball is integral with a pin 26 and the latter has aU-shaped bracket head 21 in which the clamp pivoted." The metal of thebifurcated end 24 is resilient, and a bolt 21, which is fixed to one ofthe legs of the bifurcated end, passes freely through a hole in theother leg of the bifurcated end. A clamp nut 28 threaded on the free endof the threaded bolt 21 is used to clamp theball in the bifurcated vend,and thus holdsthe clamp device rigidly mounted at the free end of thearm Ia. have been applied to fractured leg-bones and these ends havebeen adjusted properly to make the perfect joint as required, the clampnuts 28 are loosened, and then the A-frame may be swung laterally on thetwo balls 25 as spaced centers, in order to remove the A-frame from thepath of the further steps in the surgical operation; I V

- From the above description it will be apparent that the appliance mayreadily be manipulated by turning the screw 5 to adjust the two clamps Aand B into positions in order that the barbs After the clamp devices orpoints '2! 'of the clamps may be impinged against the opposite sides ofthe ends of the broken bone; then, by turning the clamping-nuts 23, theclamping devices are rigidly attached to the leg-bone, or to theadjoining ends of the bone,

plates, for a perfect setting, after which the clamps A and B arereleased and the appliance removed.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination with a cross head anda screw therein, a pair of arms pivoted to the cross head, aspreader-head in which the screw is journaled, and links spreader-headwith the arms, of a pair of bracketheads pivoted on the arms, and a pairof clamps swiveled in said bracket heads.

2. In a fracture appliance, the combination with abrace-frame includingspaced arms, and means for moving the free ends of said arms toward andaway from one another, of a bracket head pivoted on each arm,-aswivel-head pivoted in each bracket-head, mounted in each swivel-head,whereby the brace frame'm'ay be swung laterally of the clamp devices.

3. In a fracture with appliance, the combination a brace-frame includingspaced arms, and

means for moving the free ends of said arms toward and away from oneanother, of a bracket head pivotally mounted on each arm, a swivelhead'.pivoted-in each bracket head, a pair of clamp bars pivoted ineachswivel-head, barbed hooks at the free ends of said bars, and clampbolts for closing said clamp bars.

4. Ina fracture appliance, the combination with across head, a pair ofarms pivoted on said cross head, a pair of connecting said arms, and ascrew threaded in the cross head and journaled in said spreaderhead, ofa bracket-head pivoted at the free end of each arm, a swivel headpivoted on each bracket-head, a .pair of clamp-bars pivoted in eachswivel-head, and means for adjusting said clamp-bars.

HOWARD ROUSE.

and a clamp-device links and a spreadenhead pivotally connecting said

